US3458614A - Method for the manufacture of molded composite relief sheets - Google Patents

Method for the manufacture of molded composite relief sheets Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US3458614A
US3458614A US620378A US3458614DA US3458614A US 3458614 A US3458614 A US 3458614A US 620378 A US620378 A US 620378A US 3458614D A US3458614D A US 3458614DA US 3458614 A US3458614 A US 3458614A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
relief
sheet
segments
image
master pattern
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US620378A
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Ernst Knoll
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3458614A publication Critical patent/US3458614A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09B—EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS
    • G09B29/00—Maps; Plans; Charts; Diagrams, e.g. route diagram
    • G09B29/12—Relief maps
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
    • B41M3/00—Printing processes to produce particular kinds of printed work, e.g. patterns
    • B41M3/02—Maps; Sea or meteorological charts

Definitions

  • FIG.4 METHOD FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF MOLDED COMPOSITE RELIEF SHEETS Filed March .3, 1967 FIG.4
  • a visible grid is provided for a relief sheet segment which on remolding the segment to planar form obtains a primary master having a grid proportionately distorted.
  • An assembly of a transparent sheet and transparent template with an undistorted grid pattern placed over the distorted primary master permits the application of an image to the transparent sheet corrected and normalized for distortion by reference to the grid lines thereby producing a corrected, normalized secondary master. This process is repeated and used to obtain corrected normalized sheet segments which are joined to form a composite.
  • the present invention relates to molded relief structures including, but not limited to, topographical maps and, more particularly, to maps of this type composed of molded plastic sheet material.
  • the invention includes a novel method for manufacturing such maps, providing for the reproduction of topographical images and contours with increased accuracy, and for the accurate assembly of a plurality of map segments to form large maps of improved durability and handling properties.
  • molded relief structures i.e. threedimensional structures having a surface in relief
  • a very important application of such relief structures is in the field of topographical maps in which the physical features of a place or geographical region are delineated in minute detail on maps or charts showing the configuration of the surface depicted, including its relief and the elevations of the land masses, the position and contours of its bodies of water, and the roads, cities and other political subdivisions, as well as other aspects of its geography. Therefore, the present invention and its background will be described with reference to topographical relief maps, although it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is equally applicable to any other desired relief structure.
  • one method of manufacturing relief structures and, in particular, topographical relief maps has been to prepare a molded plastic master pattern with the desired indicia of topographical diiferentiations, such as elevations above sea level, bodies of water, roads, cities and the like applied in coded colors.
  • the first step has been to make a mold in relief reproducing the topography of the area to be depicted.
  • This mold is then employed in conjunction with available molding apparatus, such as a deep draw device for example, which draws a sheet of a suitable flexible plastic material down over the mold so that the plastic conforms closely to and takes the configuration of the relief structure of the mold.
  • the plastic sheet is conventionally an opaque, thermoplastic material of suflicient thickness for adequate mechanical strength, and of a rubber-like elasticity. Such a sheet takes and retains the desired form when heated and forced into intimate contact with the mold, either by the use of a vacuum beneath the sheet to cause air pressure to force it against the mold, or by the use of physical means such as an upper mold cavity for this purpose. On cooling and/ or setting the molded plastic sheet is removed from the mold.
  • the upper surface of the resulting molded plastic sheet which is in relief corresponding to the contours of the geographical area to be depicted, now has the indicia of topographical ditferentiation applied by hand or any other suitable means according to known techniques to produce a topographical image.
  • Such indicia may be of any desired type suitable for the purpose, such as contour lines or areas of different colors or texture and may be in black and white, or color, or fluorescent or other dyes, for example.
  • the molded plastic relief sheet with the applied topographical image is then restored to its original fiat planar form by any suitable conventional means such as by the use of a deep drawing device or by pressing between heated plattens.
  • the resulting flat plastic sheet with a topographical image on its upper surface is then employed as a master pattern for making prints, usually, but not necessarily in colors, by any conventional process, including photographic processes, and silk screen and other printing processes.
  • the prints may be made on any suitable moldable material, but are preferably made on sheets of the opaque, rubber-like plastic material used for the master.
  • the resulting flat prints are then molded over the original relief mold by any suitable conventional pro cedure as above, for example, by the use of a deep draw device, thus producing colored sheet plastic topographical relief maps.
  • topographical maps produced in the manner described above have come into general use, it has long been recognized that such maps have certain inherent disadvantages.
  • One of the most serious of these disadvantages, from the point of view of the cartographer, and those users interested in the accuracy of the map, is that the contour lines and the contour of colored areas or other topographical indicia on such maps do not coincide exactly with the corresponding original indicia applied to the master pattern in its relief form. This is due to the fact that distortion of these contour lines and other indicia is necessarily introduced when the master pattern is converted to the flat form required to permit production of prints. Therefore, the prints reproduced from the flat master pattern do not accurately reflect the exact three-dimensional contours, and topographical image of the master pattern, even after the prints are themselves molded to relief form.
  • the present invention makes possible the manufacture of large relief sheets or maps made up of a plurality of relief sheet segments joined together with their edges overlapping, the physical contours and any images on the overlapping portions of the segments being substantially identical to permit accurate nesting of the overlapped portions and accurate mating of the edges of any images on the overlapped and adjacent portions, without introducing tension or strain to the sheet material. This is accomplished by compensating for differing distortions of the physical relief structure and image in adjacent segments of the relief sheet which are introduced into the primary master patterns from which the different segments of the relief sheet are formed when such patterns are reduced from relief to planar form as required to make prints.
  • correction and conformation of such distortions is accomplished by transferring the image from the planar primary master pattern to a transparent secondary pattern, modifying the image as it is transferred by interpolation in accordance with the degree of distortion indicated by the relationship of an undistorted grid structure and an identical grid structure on the primary master pattern, which has been distorted by its reduction from relief to planar or flat form.
  • the secondary master pattern formed in this way having been thus corrected and normalized for distortion of the primary master pattern, is employed in the making of color stencils for use in the printing of sheets to be relief moldcd into segments of the large relief sheet.
  • FIG. 1 is a top fragmentary plan view of a topographical relief map of the invention, showing the accurately mated images and relief structures of adjacent segments thereof along the line I-I;
  • FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the topographical relief map taken on the line IIII of FIG. 1 showing the contours of the relief structures;
  • FIG. 3 is an edge view showing a primary master pattern in planar form, an intermediate transparent template and an upper transparent sheet to which the image (not shown) of the primary master pattern is to be transferred to form a secondary master pattern;
  • FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the structure of FIG. 3 showing a portion of the image on the primary master pattern, including distorted grid lines, the undistorted grid lines of the transparent template, and a portion of a modified image applied to the upper transparent sheet.
  • a large topographical relief map 10 is shown to be composed of a plurality of segments, of which, only two, 11 and 12, are illustrated for simplicity.
  • Segment 11 has a portion A which has a unique relief structure and topographical image corresponding to and depicting a particular geographic area.
  • segment 12 also has portion B, which has a different unique relief structure and topographical image, representing a different geographical area spaced from that represented by portion A of segment 11.
  • Each of the segments 11 and 12 also has an identical portion C adjacent one edge thereof, which represents the geographical area separating but contiguous with the area A and B of segments 11 and 12, respectively.
  • the relief structure of the portions C of segments 11 and 12 being identical, the two portions fit together in nesting relationship without tension or strain when the segments 11 and 12 are overlapped as shown and bonded together by any suitable means such as by the use of available adhesives or by conventional heat sealing techniques. It will also be seen that the edge of the topographical image of the portion C of segment 12 overlying the portion C of segment 11 mates substantially exactly with the topographical image at the edge of portion A of segment 11 along the line II in FIGURE 1.
  • each of the different segments of the relief map 10 i manufactured separately. Sheets about 5 feet square, composed of an opaque thermoplastic material of suitable thickness, mechanical strength, flexibility and elasticity are commercially available and have been used previously in the manufacture of composite relief sheets. Previously such sheets of plastic have been molded over a previously prepared relief mold thus reproducing the physical relief structure of the geographical area to be depicted. This same procedure is followed in the method of the present invention, except that before molding the plastic sheet 13 is provided with a grid 14 which may be printed or stamped on the surface by any suitable means to provide a visible open pattern.
  • the grid is preferably made up of spaced straight lines at right angles forming a plurality of squares, and with heavier lines defining regions containing a number of smaller squares, e.g. 4, 16, etc.
  • the grid may, however, take any other suitable form such as a series of concentric circles divided into segments by radii emanating from the common center point, in order to form a grid for reference purposes.
  • the lines of the grid 14 are straight originally, it will be seen in FIG. 4 that these lines are distorted after relief molding of the sheet 13 in accordance with the nature of the relief structure.
  • the relief molded sheet 13 having the distorted grid 14 on its upper surface is now provided with a topographical image by any suitable method such as by hand painting.
  • the image may be of any suitable type to convey the desired information about the geographical area represented by the molded relief structure.
  • the elevation of various areas on the map may be indicated by the application of contour lines or if desired by coloring the areas defined by the contour lines, with coded colors, such as medium green to indicate an elevation from sea level of up to 300 feet, light green for 300 500 feet, buff for 5004000 feet, light brown for 1000-2000 feet, and dark brown for 2000-4000 feet etc. Lakes may be shown as areas of dark blue, seas and oceans as areas of light blue, rivers may be shown in dark green and cities in red, etc. In applying such indicia to form the topographical image, however, care is taken to preserve the grid 14 on sheet 13.
  • the topographical image to the molded relief sheet 13 After applying the topographical image to the molded relief sheet 13 it is reduced to planar or flat form once again by any suitable means such as by'the use of a deep draw device or by compressing it between heated plattens, thus completing the formation of a primary master pattern for one segment of the map.
  • the flattening of the primary master pattern in this way i essential to make it useful in reproducing copies by conventional printing techniques as explained above and also for use in the method of this invention.
  • flattening of the relief structure causes distortions of the relief structure and the topographical image. This is the source of the problem solved by the present invention. Inasmuch as the relief structures of the unique areas A and B of adjacent segments 11 and 12 are different, when these differing structures are flattened they affect the distortion of the adjacent portions C differently.
  • a secondary master pattern is first produced which corrects and normalizes the distortions in each segment. Inasmuch as the common or overlapping areas of adjacent segments which would formerly have been distorted differently are now corrected and normalized, the common areas are conformed and thus are adapted to mate accurately.
  • the secondary master pattern is made by the use of a transparent template 15, which may suitably be of the same size as the sheet 13, and which is provided with a grid 14 identical with the original undistorted grid 14 on sheet 13.
  • a transparent sheet 1 6 coextensive with the template 15 and sheet 13 of the primary master pattern in fiat form, is immovably mounted on the template 15.
  • the templatetransparent sheet unit is then placed over the primary master pattern with the template 15 in contact with the sheet 13 and with the transparent sheet 16 uppermost.
  • the primary master pattern and template 15 are provided with at least one marginal reference mark and preferably with a plurality of other corresponding reference points to permit the template to be accurately registered with the primary master pattern so that the grid 14' of the template is in exact registration with any distorted portion of the grid 14 of the primary pattern. Intentionally inappropriate color spots may be added to the master pattern for this purpose.
  • the grid 14 of the master pattern has been distorted by flattening of the relief image and, therefore, the grid 14 does not coincide with any portion of the grid 14 which has been distorted.
  • the distortion of the grid 14 in the flat primary master pattern is proportional to the distortion of the topographical image and relief structure of the sheet 13 at its edges, for example, the area of the spaces between corresponding lines of the distorted grid 14 and undistorted grid 14' are proportional to the degree of distortion of the primary master pattern.
  • a secondary master pattern is now formed on the transparent sheet 16 by application thereto of a topographical image similar to the image of the primary master pattern as seen through the transparent sheet 16 and template 15, but Lmodified to compensate for the distortion of the primary master pattern.
  • the image on the secondary pattern may also 'be a colored area image, but it is preferred to use only contour lines to delineate the various areas to be colored differently.
  • the modified image may be applied to sheet 16 by hand or by any other suitable means following closely the image on the primary master pattern, but interpolating between the corresponding distorted lines of grid 14 and undistorted lines of grid 14, modifying the contours of the image to a greater or lesser degree in accordance with the degree of divergence of the corresponding grid lines in the area.
  • the templatetransparent sheet unit is moved from place to place over the primary pattern as the image within each square or shall area is completed, reregistering the undistorted grid after each move before again beginning to apply the image to sheet 16.
  • the distortions in each small area may be treated separately without accumulating distortions from one area to the next.
  • a secondary master pattern is produced on the transparent sheet 16 which has an image corrected and normalized for the distortions of the primary master pattern. It should be noted that the smaller the squares of the grid are made the more accurate the correction for distortion may be made.
  • the secondary master pattern is then employed according to conventional techniques, to produce any desired quantity of fiat prints.
  • a set of color stencils may be made from the secondary master pattern by known techniques and used in a conventional printing process. Photographic, silk screen or any other suitable reproduction techniques may also be employed.
  • the fiat prints obtained in this way on suitable plastic sheets, for example, are then relief molded, being careful to align the marginal reference marks, on the same mold and apparatus used to make the pattern to produce relief molded map segments.
  • the finished relief segments formed in this way will have the colored contours accurately registered with the relief structure.
  • each segment of the map is provided with an insertion, or edge portion identical with an edge portion of the adjacent segment of the map, thus providing an area of overlap between adjacent sections for purposes of attachment.
  • the edges of the relief segments may be trimmed as necessary to provide a sharp straight line when overlapping the adjacent segment.
  • the segments may be joined by means of a suitable adhesive, by heat sealing techniques or by taping the seams or joints, or by a combination of these methods.
  • the relief sheet segments produced according to the present invention by the use of a distortion-compensated secondary master pattern are substantially free from both distortion of the relief structure and distortion of the topographical image, thus making it possible to accurately mate adjacent segments without forcibly aligning them and thus setting up tensions and strains in the sheet material.
  • This being the case large relief sheets or topographical maps assembled from such segments are free from internal tension at the juncture of the individual segments. For this reason, such large sheets are easy and convenient to handle and are capable of being rolled and unrolled repeatedly without rupturing the bonds between adjacent segments.
  • a map or relief sheet will have a much longer useful life than the tension loaded sheets of the prior art.
  • the back of the sheet is provided with a series of loops spaced parallel to a horizontal edge of the sheet and attached to the sheet by heat sealing or other suitable means.
  • a thin lath or rod may be inserted through the loop as a suspension bar, if desired, and may also serve as a core on which to roll the sheet for storage or shipping.
  • each of said segments is obtained by relief molding a first sheet of plastic, applying a visible image to the relief structure of said molded sheet and remolding said first sheet to planar form to produce a primary master pattern, making a print from said primary master pattern on a second plastic sheet, and relief molding said sheet to provide one of said relief sheet segments
  • the improvement which comprises: providing for each different relief sheet segment, a visible grid structure on the plastic first sheet from which said primary master pattern is formed before molding said sheet and maintaining said grid in visible form after applying the image to said sheet, whereby on remolding said sheet to planar form a primary master pattern is obtained having a visible grid distorted in proportion to the distortion of the image and relief structure thereof, placing over the primary master pattern in registration therewith a unit consisting of a transparent sheet over a transparent template, the latter having a visible grid structure identical with the grid of said primary master pattern before distortion thereof, applying a visible image to said
  • each relief sheet segment obtained from said secondary master pattern has at one edge thereof a portion having the same relief structure and image as a similar portion of an adjacent segment in said large relief sheet, said similar portions of the adjacent segments having been corrected and normalized for distortion in said primary master pattern, whereby when said common portion of the adjacent segments are overlapped the relief structures and images thereof mate accurately without forcible alignment.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mathematical Physics (AREA)
  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Educational Administration (AREA)
  • Educational Technology (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
  • Printing Methods (AREA)
  • Rigid Containers With Two Or More Constituent Elements (AREA)
US620378A 1966-03-04 1967-03-03 Method for the manufacture of molded composite relief sheets Expired - Lifetime US3458614A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE1966K0058646 DE1497703B2 (de) 1966-03-04 1966-03-04 Verfahren zur herstellung von kolorierten aufrollbaren relieflandkarten aus kunststoffolie

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3458614A true US3458614A (en) 1969-07-29

Family

ID=7228782

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US620378A Expired - Lifetime US3458614A (en) 1966-03-04 1967-03-03 Method for the manufacture of molded composite relief sheets

Country Status (10)

Country Link
US (1) US3458614A (en:Method)
AT (1) AT272709B (en:Method)
BE (1) BE694985A (en:Method)
CH (1) CH457821A (en:Method)
DE (1) DE1497703B2 (en:Method)
DK (1) DK127025B (en:Method)
FR (1) FR1513780A (en:Method)
GB (1) GB1183376A (en:Method)
NL (1) NL155966B (en:Method)
SE (1) SE315430B (en:Method)

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3631580A (en) * 1969-09-15 1972-01-04 William M Swartz Method of making plastic articles
US20050146073A1 (en) * 2004-01-02 2005-07-07 Guloy Aldo Y. Method for forming a decorative flower pot
US20050170083A1 (en) * 2003-09-30 2005-08-04 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Method of manufacturing window having at least one of radio wave stealth property and electromagnetic wave shield property, and window material having at least one of radio wave stealth property and electromagnetic wave shield property
RU2280289C2 (ru) * 2004-09-08 2006-07-20 Общество с ограниченной ответственностью "Арт-Бюро-XXI" Способ изготовления художественной карты
US20100304069A1 (en) * 2007-02-19 2010-12-02 Kazuyuki Oguri Aircraft window member, method of manufacturing the same, and aircraft window assembly
US9004675B2 (en) 2013-04-04 2015-04-14 Nike, Inc. Image correction with 3D printing

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2309752A (en) * 1940-04-06 1943-02-02 Aero Survey Corp Method and apparatus for producing maps
US2468731A (en) * 1946-04-26 1949-05-03 Gustave W Borkland Production of ornamented embossed articles
US3241429A (en) * 1962-05-14 1966-03-22 Pid Corp Pictorial parallax panoramagram units
US3378421A (en) * 1964-04-08 1968-04-16 Mc Donnell Douglas Corp Method of producing ambient light trapping filter

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2309752A (en) * 1940-04-06 1943-02-02 Aero Survey Corp Method and apparatus for producing maps
US2468731A (en) * 1946-04-26 1949-05-03 Gustave W Borkland Production of ornamented embossed articles
US3241429A (en) * 1962-05-14 1966-03-22 Pid Corp Pictorial parallax panoramagram units
US3378421A (en) * 1964-04-08 1968-04-16 Mc Donnell Douglas Corp Method of producing ambient light trapping filter

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3631580A (en) * 1969-09-15 1972-01-04 William M Swartz Method of making plastic articles
US20050170083A1 (en) * 2003-09-30 2005-08-04 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Method of manufacturing window having at least one of radio wave stealth property and electromagnetic wave shield property, and window material having at least one of radio wave stealth property and electromagnetic wave shield property
US7674417B2 (en) * 2003-09-30 2010-03-09 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Method of manufacturing window having at least one of radio wave stealth property and electromagnetic wave shield property, and window material having at least one of radio wave stealth property and electromagnetic wave shield property
US20050146073A1 (en) * 2004-01-02 2005-07-07 Guloy Aldo Y. Method for forming a decorative flower pot
RU2280289C2 (ru) * 2004-09-08 2006-07-20 Общество с ограниченной ответственностью "Арт-Бюро-XXI" Способ изготовления художественной карты
US20100304069A1 (en) * 2007-02-19 2010-12-02 Kazuyuki Oguri Aircraft window member, method of manufacturing the same, and aircraft window assembly
US9156539B2 (en) 2007-02-19 2015-10-13 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Aircraft window member, method of manufacturing the same, and aircraft window assembly
US9004675B2 (en) 2013-04-04 2015-04-14 Nike, Inc. Image correction with 3D printing
US9205673B2 (en) 2013-04-04 2015-12-08 Nike, Inc. Image correction with 3D printing
US9457589B2 (en) 2013-04-04 2016-10-04 Nike, Inc. Image correction with 3D printing

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB1183376A (en) 1970-03-04
DE1497703A1 (de) 1969-07-17
DE1497703B2 (de) 1976-12-30
DK127025B (da) 1973-09-10
BE694985A (en:Method) 1967-08-14
AT272709B (de) 1969-07-25
SE315430B (en:Method) 1969-09-29
CH457821A (de) 1968-06-15
NL6702723A (en:Method) 1967-09-05
NL155966B (nl) 1978-02-15
FR1513780A (fr) 1968-02-16

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
JP2662005B2 (ja) 同時成形及び転写
US3487133A (en) Method for making relief maps
JPH0632355A (ja) 収納ケースとその製造法
US3634951A (en) Molded relief sheets
US4579708A (en) Molding of resinous embossing elements for greeting cards
US3458614A (en) Method for the manufacture of molded composite relief sheets
US4110393A (en) Method of making simulated three-dimensional stained glass objects
US3748202A (en) Process for manufacturing reprinted matter(relief printing)
US2970043A (en) Transparent characters with spacing aid
US3769114A (en) Method of and system for making synthetic fossils
US878308A (en) Process for the manufacture of maps in colors and in relief.
JP3165463B2 (ja) 精密万線版の製造方法及び化粧材
US4299165A (en) Color separation orientation gauge and method
JPS6048394A (ja) 盲人用点字地図の製造方法
US2352413A (en) Production of mosaic maps
JPH07257099A (ja) 絵柄模様と凹凸模様とを有する原稿の複製方法および複製物
US1846630A (en) Imitation leather
US3025627A (en) Color printing process
JPH10228237A (ja) 立体地図，立体地図の製造装置及び立体地図の製造方法
US2601161A (en) Medium for use in making camera copy and method of preparing the same
JP3317304B2 (ja) 柔らかい立体地図の製造方法
US4385828A (en) Method for transferring an image from a translucent material to a photosensitized material
JPH10235009A (ja) ジグゾーパズルとシート部材及びこれらの製造方法
JP2921951B2 (ja) 化粧板の製造方法
US242414A (en) Batjd